Jump to section
The choice of DDaT operating model has profound implications for leadership style. Each model places different demands on leaders, requires different behaviours, and shapes how authority, accountability and decision making are exercised. A common cause of operating model failure is the misalignment between the chosen model and the leadership behaviours applied to it.
There is no single “right” leadership style for all contexts. Instead, effective CDIOs and executive teams adapt their leadership approach to match the operating model(s) in use, often applying multiple styles simultaneously across different parts of the organisation.
Leadership in a process/project model
In this model, leadership is focused on operational control, risk management and delivery discipline. Clarity, consistency and authority are critical.
Directive and control-oriented leadership
“Clarity, control and consistency deliver results.”
Key risk: applying directive control to problems that require collaboration, learning and adaptation.
However, this style can become constraining if overapplied. Excessive control can slow decision making, suppress innovation and reinforce a transactional “order taking” relationship between DDaT and services.
Leaders must therefore be conscious of where this approach is necessary, and where it may inhibit progress.
Leadership in an enabling model
In this model, the role of leadership shifts from control to alignment and partnership. The CDIO and corporate leaders act as convenors, facilitators and integrators, bringing together services, DDaT, finance and change around shared priorities.
Collaborative and facilitative leadership
“We succeed or fail together, and we decide together what matters most.”
Key risk: lack of clarity on decision rights, leading to slow progress or unresolved conflict if facilitation is not balanced with firmness.
Strong enabling leadership is particularly important in local public services, where delivery depends on cooperation across professional boundaries and organisational silos.
CDIOs operating in this model need credibility with both technical teams and service leaders, often must operate effectively at board or executive team level.
Leadership in a product/value model
In this model, leadership is centred on empowering teams to deliver outcomes, rather than directing tasks or controlling activity. Authority is deliberately decentralised, within clearly defined guardrails.
This model places high demands on leadership maturity.
Outcomes focused and servant leadership
“Lead by enabling others to succeed.”
Key risk: lack of clarity on decision rights, leading to slow progress or unresolved conflict if facilitation is not balanced with firmness.
Leadership in ambidextrous and hybrid models
Most local public services need to operate in hybrid or ambidextrous models, where different parts of the organisation require different operating and leadership styles at the same time.
Adaptive leadership
“The right leadership style, in the right place, at the right time.”
In this context, the most critical leadership capability is adaptability.
This is particularly important where there is structural separation between “run” and “change”, platform and product teams, or macro and meso levels in place-based models.
Leadership integration, shared purpose and clear architectural and governance guardrails are essential to prevent fragmentation.
Implications for CDIOs and executive teams
The effectiveness of a DDaT operating model is inseparable from leadership behaviour. CDIOs and executive teams should therefore:
- Explicitly discuss and agree the leadership behaviours required for the chosen model(s)
- Develop leadership capability alongside operating model change
- Role model the behaviours expected across the organisation
- Recognise that this is as much an organisational and cultural change as a technical one
Ultimately, successful CDIO leadership is not defined by control, collaboration or empowerment alone, but by the ability to apply the right leadership style at the right time, in service of better outcomes for people, communities and places.
